Construction material The principal use of melamine resin is as the main constituent of high-pressure
laminates, such as
Formica and Arborite, and of
laminate flooring. Melamine-resin tile wall panels can also be used as
whiteboards. Melamine formaldehyde is used in plastic laminate and overlay materials. Formaldehyde is more tightly bound in melamine-formaldehyde than it is in
urea-formaldehyde. This results in somewhat reduced levels of
harmful formaldehyde emissions.
Other In the kitchen Melamine resin is often used in kitchen utensils and plates (such as Melmac). Melamine resin utensils and bowls are not
microwave safe. During the late 1950s and 1960s melamine
tableware became fashionable. Aided by the stylish modern designs of
A. H. Woodfull and the Product Design Unit of British Industrial Plastics, it was thought to threaten the dominant position of
ceramics in the market. In the late 1960s the tendency of melamine cups and plates to become stained and scratched led to a decline in sales, and eventually the material became largely restricted to the
camping and
nursery markets, in which its light weight and resistance to breaking were valued.
Cabinet and furniture making Melamine resin is often used to saturate decorative paper that is laminated under heat and pressure and then pasted onto
particle board; the resulting panel, often called
melamine, is commonly used in
ready-to-assemble furniture and
kitchen cabinets. Melamine is available in diverse sizes and thicknesses, as well as a large number of colors and patterns. The sheets are heavy for their size, and the resin is prone to chipping when being cut with conventional table saws.
Carbon capture Melamine, with the addition of formaldehyde,
cyanuric acid, and DETA (
diethylenetriamine) has been demonstrated to bind CO2 for purposes of
carbon capture, according to researchers at
Stanford,
Berkeley, and
Texas A&M.
Microencapsulation of active compounds Melamine-based resin (e.g., melamine-formaldehyde or melamine-urea-formaldehyde resins) can also be used to microencapsulate active agents, such as healing agents or
phase change materials, to prevent leakage above their melting temperature. The resulting surface is quite inert and can hardly be modified with traditional techniques such as
silanization. Some research has shown that
polydopamine can be effective as a surface modifier for this resin. ==Production and structure==